Copy an object in Java

Question

I have an object that I need to copy in Java. I need to create a copy and run some tests on it without changing the original object itself.

I assumed that I needed t

Answer 1

Some options:

• You can implement Cloneable for your object and put clone() method as public. See full explanation here: http://www.cafeaulait.org/course/week4/46.html
  However, this produces a shallow copy and might be not something you want.
• You can serialize and deserialize your object. You will need to implement Serializable interface for the object and all its fields.
• You can use XStream to perform serialization via XML - you won't have to implement anything here.